I’ve been asked lately about what I’ve been eating so here is a quick post to share with you today. You can see that even though I aim for nutrient dense foods, I also intake some inflammatory foods which I think is inevitable in real life.

1:45 PM: 16oz of coconut water (I just love a cold coconut water after the workout, not that I scientifically think it’s the best post-workout. It just makes me feel better than any of the hundred other post-workout drinks I’ve tried)

3:00 PM: 24oz of Wild Alaskan King Salmon. Took 20oz of fresh spinach and steamed it/ate it. Also 2 bundles of chard which I boiled and ate that. Only had half an avocado because I was getting so full from the veggies.

5:30 PM – 9PM (coaching)

9:45 PM: Organic grass fed raw home-made Kefir (PROBIOTIC)

Wednesday:

5:40 AM: Chlorella algae powder w/ matcha

6:15 AM: Workout

7:20 AM: Post-workout, I had the Boar’s Head, “Rainier,” sandwhich from the QFC deli in Broadway Market w/ a coconut water of course. Another Brew Dr. Kombucha, this time “Clear Mind” flavor.

8:00 AM – 1:00 PM (coaching)

10:20 AM: During a quick break between coaching HIIT classes, I drank part of store bought Kefir called “Grace Harbor Farms, Plain Kefir” from QFC. This particular brand IS real legitimate kefir, unlike many store brands.

11:40 AM: Drank the other half of the bottle of kefir (Sometimes I only get a few moments to consume anything so I try to make it count, or otherwise I go too many hours without eating probably).

Planning ahead for tomorrow

Tomorrow I’ve planned that I will have more salmon/greens because today wasn’t my best eating day. I’ve taken on more work and helped other trainers at OTF so I notice that when my schedule becomes more demanding, I find it more challenging to consume the top foods. I’m sure you can relate.

I can’t wait to get salmon back in my body.

I already know that I’m going to have my matcha/chlorella around 4:00AM tomorrow. By 9AM, I’ll have some pastured eggs meal similar to that I had on Monday. Then when 3-4PM rolls around, I’ll be preparing my meal of fresh salmon / greens that I’ll have just picked up from the store. I try to go to bed around 8PM because if I get less than 6 hours of sleep, I already know it’s going to be a STRUGGLE to choose healthy foods. Sleep is so crucial for making the right choices.

Tomorrow will be a new day though, with more opportunities for nutrient dense food. It’s not glamorous that I have to wash a bunch of pots and pans to keep up with my cooking, but you just gotta do what you gotta do. I sometimes remind myself what a blessing it is to have access to some of the best nutrition in the world here in my city of Seattle. Why let the opportunity slip by?

People say they just love me because I am so positive.

I can still write headlines that aren’t so fuzzy and friendly though! See above. Bahah!

Do you suffer from poor posture, pain in your spine, pain in your upper back, pain in your shoulders?

I’m only writing this because I care. Most of your friends and family won’t tell you that your posture sucks. Okay, maybe your mom will tell you to sit up straight, but most people believe that posture is your own responsibility.

Upper back/Thoracic spine extension and stretching at home on a foam roller

I’m here to help.

Be aware of the stability-mobility continuum.

In general, the neck should be stable, the upper back should be mobile, the lower back should be stable, the hips should be mobile, the knees should be stable, and the ankles should be mobile.

Mobility/Stability continuum

The above statement is definitely a generality, but it applies to most people in the general population so it does have use.

By following these basic principles, a fitness professional can prescribe targeted exercises and stretches for an individual in need of optimal function.

Some people need to cure their bad posture, others are already wrecking their joints by exercising with poor form.

Here’s an example. If you are constantly performing back exercises with shrugged shoulders, over time it will probably end up stressing your joints. You need to be able to control the scapula by retracting and depressing the shoulder blade when appropriate.

Exercising with poor posture is like driving a car with axles and wheels out of alignment: it’s only going to work for so long until it breaks down.

Aside from the fact that good posture promotes a healthy self esteem and people respond better to you when you exhibit good posture, you also need to perform your exercises with good posture otherwise you’re not making the situation any better.

Our joints have a lifespan and you can increase the lifespan of your joints by exercising in good posture. Additionally, you can increase the lifespan of your joints by having training that promotes muscular balance and offers enough time for recovery.

Mobility in the upper back (upper back extension on the foam roller, upper back stretches on your chair, upper back stretch on the stability ball, upper back bends in yoga, etc)

These three keys will do WONDERS for your body. Moreover, you can also go ahead and stretch your hip flexors and other tight areas that relate to the hip. On top of that, perform some ankle mobility drills and strengthen your tibialis anterior and posterior and then you’re good to go!

Say hello to good posture forever

EVERYBODY has seen an elderly person with a horrible kyphotic posture that just makes you wonder how that even happened. Well, the truth is that they probably never performed upper back exercises and upper back extensions. As a result, their backs became hunched, which can lead to damages down the chain.

Upper back rigidity can lead to lower back pain

Everything in the kinetic chain is linked. You really need to address your posture from a holistic standpoint. If you have chronic lower back pain, it’s quite possible that it is linked to tightness of the upper back. Obviously I can’t prescribe for you through this blog, but it is worth being aware of for when you visit with a healthcare provider or fitness professional.

Take care of your body so that you can life a long, healthy and high quality life.

I don’t think you get more than one life, so make it count. You’d be surprised what happens when you start taking care of yourself.

If I’m not training full body (which I am a fan of actually), then I’m training upper/lower splits.

Even though in bodybuilding, many people will train chest on one day, back on one day, legs on one day, arms on one day, and shoulders and abs on one day, I’ve never found that style to be effective for me. I like to train the basic upper body exercises on the same day.

Dumbell Row

Upper/Lower split is like this:

Monday: Lower body

Tuesday: Upper body

Wednesday: Rest day

Thursday: Lower Body

Friday: Upper body

Sat/Sunday: Rest days or other workouts, yoga, exercise classes, various activities, outings, etc.

Full Body workout would be like this:

3-5x per week with various daily emphasis and listening to your body for recovery purposes. If you are doing Orangetheory Fitness, then it’s possible you’re already doing this. That being said, if you’re serious about gaining more strength, you’ll want to do dedicated strength training sessions and not just cardio/weights combination every time.

I mostly believe in either Full Body training and in Upper / Lower training.

If you read the muscle magazines, you really need to understand that mainstream bodybuilding magazines are full of men and women on steroids and/or performance enhancers. The reason is because illegal steroids are easy to order online and widely accessible to anybody who’s willing to do a little research. Also, they work really well and have a lot of side effects.

What those people put into their bodies is none of my business, but it creates false perceptions when it comes to the, “what,” “how,” and, “when” can I see those results for myself. Most fitness magazine cover models have bodies that are simply unattainable for people who are unwilling to risk their health by taking steroids.

Benefits of full body training and upper/lower splits: Frequency

You really shouldn’t be so concerned about shredding/destroying your muscles during an excessively long weight training session full of drop sets and exercises to failure. Instead, train for frequency and continually get stronger in key exercises such as squats, deadlift variations, bench press, rows, weighted pull ups, dips, overhead press, arm curls/extensions, and leg curls.

All you have to really do is practice on the key exercises and make progress. Most people can recover the muscles sufficiently within 48 hours as long as you didn’t burn yourself out or always going for 1 rep maxes or always going to failure.

Just imagine if you trained your bench press 2-3x/week, your db row 2-3x/week, squats and leg curls 2-3x/week! You’d make progress way faster than just doing it once per week along with a bunch of isolation exercises.

Train like an athlete and follow prominent personal trainers that train athletes.

Of course my demographic is not bodybuilding on this blog even though some people will have an interest in bodybuilding. Let me tell you, I am also interested in bodybuilding and I follow it sometimes, but I am not interested in being a bodybuilder. Fitness is my game. There’s no shame in that.

Standing overhead press is more athletic than seated overhead press and yields more benefits for fitness.

Athletes are probably the fittest people on the planet and most of them are required to take some sort of drug tests. I’d suggest to look into how athletes train — be goal oriented and don’t spread yourself too thin in your training.

Keep it simple stupid: KISS was the mantra of a personal trainer I worked with.

For my upper body workout, I’ll usually spend a couple months prioritizing about 3-4 exercises that I would typically do first in a training session. For example, on lower body, I have recently prioritized rear-foot elevated split squats and I went from doing 135lbsx8 reps per leg to doing 205lbsx6 reps per leg — the glute growth was noticeable and my running strength improved.

No need to be fancy, just set a goal on a few exercises at any given point and prioritize them. All of the other exercises are just to support the goal of increasing strength in the ones that you are prioritizing (or to promote injury prevention).

Weight training is a lifestyle.

I can program an exercise routine for you that is top notch, guaranteed to be effective. However, if you constantly go to bed late, drink alcohol often, and neglect your nutrient intake, then you’ll never make it past the “newbie gains.”

It’s not a damn secret — vegetables are the best for you.

I love strength training with weights because of the sense of accomplishment and because I know that there is literally no way I am going to make progress in the weight room if I don’t take care of my nutrition and sleep. The weight room teaches me lessons about myself and encourages me to take care of my body.

Having some muscles doesn’t hurt either.

I feel confident from my experiences, not so much from my body. But I can tell you that if I didn’t didn’t take care of myself, then those experiences I’ve had over the years wouldn’t have been as rewarding or opened nearly as many doors.

There are a few top mineral supplements out there for health purposes.

I don’t bother with most of them.

Here’s the problem:

Our food is mostly grown using NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium) fertilizers in soil that has already been leached for nutrients. What about the other 70 minerals? Some soil contains them, most has not nearly enough.

Americans are severely nutrient deficient, especially in minerals.

People don’t talk a lot about minerals, probably because they aren’t that sexy. Even though we can get a fair amount of minerals like calcium from our food, we often need more magnesium. And even if we’re getting magnesium, we also need the trace minerals as well.

I’ve already found the top mineral supplement.

Benefits of trace minerals

Magnesium + trace minerals are required by the body’s electrical system. So when you get a cramp, the muscles have lost the electrical impulses needed by the brain to stay calm, so they spasm.

Every second of every day your body relies on ionic minerals and trace minerals to conduct and generate billions of tiny electrical impulses. Without these impulses, not a single muscle, including your heart, would be able to function.

For some people who have absolutely horrible cramps, this may not fix the problem completely, but it has a good chance of helping. For people with mild muscle cramping, TraceMinerals will pretty much eliminate it to begin with.

Feels good to have said goodbye to Charlie Horse!

You’d have to experience the effects yourself.

I’m mostly sharing this to add value for you. Some things I can stand behind and this is one of them even though I am not associated with the Trace Minerals Research company. This is definitely one of my top 10 supplements of all time.